Achievement of broadband near-infrared phosphor Ca3Y2Ge3O12:Cr3+, Ce3+ via energy transfer for food analysis

Cr 3+ -doped Ca 3 Y 2 Ge 3 O 12 broadband near-infrared phosphor was synthesized by the high temperature solidstate reaction method. Under the excitation of 475 nm, the emission peak of Ca 3 Y 2 Ge 3 O 12 :Cr 3+ is at 823 nm and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) is 155 nm. The introduction of Ce 3+ as a sensitizer leads to the enhancement of CYG:Cr 3+ emission intensity. The emission range of CYG:Ce 3+ , Cr 3+ can perfectly cover the frequency doubling absorption band of C–H, O–H and other hydrogen groups. There is an energy transfer process between Ce 3+ and Cr 3+ , and the energy transfer efficiency is as high as 94.21%. According to the near-infrared response to hydrogen group and Lambert-Beer law, the dependence of absorbance Lg( I 0 / I ) on sugar content was explored, and then the reliability and accuracy of the method were verified. The results show that the phosphor Ca 3 Y 2 Ge 3 O 12 :Ce 3+ , Cr 3+ phosphor has prospects for a potential application in nondestructive food detection. • There is the energy transfer from Ce 3+ to Cr 3+ . • CYG:Ce 3+ , Cr 3+ has certain application value in nondestructive food detection. • The best excitation wavelength of the sample is 475 nm, which can be effectively excited by the blue light chip, and the FWHM is 155 nm.